My name is Ana. I work with tech startups in New York, and I've had a fascination with 3D printing ever since I first learned what it was. It's amazing that everyday people can use Shapeways to create beautiful, useful things, and I can't wait to get started.

Before getting into anything more advanced, I'd like to start off by customizing one of the co-creator templates. Do any of you more experienced folks have tips or tricks to share about choosing a template?

2. Rule of thumb is to trust more the products that have real photos, which means they were already printed, which means it's safe to assume that they can be printed and the person who created them is happy with their design.

3. People active on forums, with a lot of posts are also probably a better bet, because it shows they're open and communicative.

I'm partial to earrings and ring templates made byShapeways, but that's because I helped creating them.

I just turned off all my co-creators but I'm always here if you need help personalizing something, making something, learning something. I'm working on a new co-creator potentially. Have to order a sample first because it has to fit something else first, and will work better when silver comes back. But I think the ladies will love it.

I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me. -Maya Angelou
michael@shapeways.com Community Advocate

As someone who has been authoring co-creations for well over a year, I can tell you that the most satisfying works on my end are those that involve a special request. I make it a point to fulfill virtually any request possible because I am helping those people create something that is so unique to them that it didn't fit within the boundaries of my original expectations. This usually leads to extra work for me, but I also benefit because, after a few dozen of these curve-balls, the creation evolves into a much more flexible design that is darn-near bulletproof.

Odd characters, special fonts, unusual sizes or proportions, extra parts. Whatever it is the customer wants is one more improvement to add to a design collaboration.

So, not every shop owner may feel the way I do, but I suggest finding a model with a theme that inspires you, and look for an opportunity to associate it with something in your own life. Unify them with your own creative input, and do not be shy about bending rules and making requests. Remember you're not interacting with a computer but with a real person, and any human designer can run circles around the most sophisticated software out there today when it comes to understanding your desires.

I'm glad I could help articulate some of what makes this site so compelling to me. People arrive here from all sorts of backgrounds. Often the initial connection is with some interest or hobby like jewelery, puzzles, scale models or sculpture. Some normally create with traditional crafts and are totally new to this, and some have experience with related fields like 3D modeling for games.

Personally, I'm a professional industrial designer and I'm very passionate about design and the freedom this technology provides. I get a lot of satisfaction from creating whatever I want without having to worry about the normal considerations that would limit me in a normal product development scenario. As someone involved with startups I'm sure you can appreciate the independence associated with a lack of bureaucracy. I feel so strongly about this that I want to help other people have the same experience...so here I am.

Here, you can share your odd, whimsical ideas and they fit right in. Things become a lot more expressive because they don't have to be a one-size-fits-all thing that everybody likes. Best of all, there is a very active community that makes Shapeways a hot-bed of experimentation and inspiration. No matter what you are interested in making, you will find someone to help you make it happen, and it can be in your hands in a couple of weeks.

I can't imagine how awesome it must be coming at it from industrial design. You get to mix your professional skills with work that's artful and fun. Even without that background, I love the freedom made by all this crafting. It's the same thrill as working in startups, but with something you can actually hold in your hand. So excited about the possibilities!

I'm new to this community as well. Actually, I hope to work on a ring for a friend. We're planning on getting her a ring with her signature as a birthday present. I'll be sure to send some pictures once I get it.

I've also fiddled around with Google Sketchup. It's way easier than all the other software out there.. but still has its own learning curve. It took me like 3 hours to design a stick figure!